What Victory?

Right now, big time media (which is to say, virtually everyone) is touting Barack Obama's asskicking of the supposedly ascendant Republican party. Six short weeks (have we heard this phrase often enough?) after he called his party's defeat in the November elections a "shellacking", here he is, getting all kinds of legislation passed out of a lame duck Congress which is traditionally incapable of accomplishing anything, other than prepping their own way into the lucrative ranks of Washington lobbyists.

Granted, the things they passed are notable, not only because of their formerly controversial nature, but just by the shear volume of bills flogged into law. And the GOP has helpfully called themselves out as losers who somehow couldn't maintain their focus long enough to deny the President any victory at all. After all, that has been their strategy, often stated, since November 2008. Do they really have a reason to be so downhearted?

Sadly, no.

Think about what they have lost; The START Treaty; Don't Ask Don't Tell; Bad Food protection; extension of Unemployment benefits. All worthy bills, and we're all better off for their being signed into law. But are they essential or are they peripheral? Don't Ask Don't Tell is Civil Rights for the 2000's, and way overdue, but is any Republican going to suffer for being in opposition to it? Do they really care that it is now a reality? Would any Republican of the last three quarters of a century really have a problem with START? No, and no.

They defied the Dream Act, and they were successful. That may cone back to haunt them, as the country grows increasingly Hispanic. Yet, that is a comeuppance for another day.

What did they get, as we limped down the stretch of lame duckdom? Why they got their wealthy friends their tax break, further piling on to the national debt that they were so disgusted with during the late campaign. They kept absolutely everything that they really care about, exactly as it was before these non-essential Democratic issues were given their day. And oh yes, they also got the estate tax, which would have continued to aid in reducing the deficit, and which also provided at least some leveling to the catastrophic swing in favor of the well-to do.

Okay, I like that these other things got passed. It's nice to see Barack win a couple. It's nice to see him strut a little, and for our side to flip off the bad guys. But make no mistake; they got the big wins. And they know that they will have the whip hand a just a few days. Then, things will get truly ugly and little mercy will be shown.

It Never Stops

So I was driving today and heard this Republican on the radio decrying the Democrats' attempt to get the estate tax exemption out of the proposed tax bill. What it is, is that the bill as put forth by the Republicans would excuse the richest of the rich from having to pay the estate tax which has been their obligation for many decades. We're talking about one quarter of one percent of the population, about those whose wealth is mind-bogglingly, obscenely huge. They've amassed these staggering piles of loot, but it still isn't enough to pass on to their worthless, spoiled kids, who, even with the present estate tax, are still the equivalent of American royalty.

Anyway, this guy is saying that "studies" show that to apply the tax now would be "devastating" to the economy. Pray, what studies could these be? Who produced them, and who paid to have them produced? Remember, the tax was in place during each and every boom that we have experienced over many years. Why wasn't it devastating before? And why would it be devastating now?

He went on say (as Republicans so often do) that by further coddling the wealthy, we stand a much better chance of producing prosperity in the country. You know, like the way in which they kept so many jobs in the U.S., or how they keep the best interests of the middle class and the poor in mind. Like with this tax exemption. Why, of course they'll begin producing jobs in the millions if we make them even richer than they already are!

Of course, Obama likes this addendum to the bill just fine. Why not - he goes along with just about everything else they want. Only a few dedicated progressives in Congress continue to hold the line. I think principally of Bernie Sanders, who staged a wonderful "Mister Sanders Goes to Washington" revival on Friday, holding the floor for eight and a half hours in a one-man filibuster. Not merely quoting bullshit from the bible or phone book as so many hacks have done in the past, he talked about the bill itself, eloquently explaining how fundamentally wrong it would be.

It will probably be in vain. I suspect that the Republicans will be further emboldened, and press for ever more outrageous changes to the essence of what it once meant to be an American. I have a few modest suggestions which I'm sure they could get behind:

• A Constitutional amendment to ban all manufacturing jobs in the United States
• A "Make-Up" tax, so that the unwealthy pay a larger percentage of income to compensate for all the years that the super rich had to pay an estate tax
• The restoration of prima notte, allowing the new nobility to have first shot at poor and middle class brides, before their wedding night with their commoner husbands
• A law requiring special clothing for the unwashed multitudes: maybe something like short pants for the men and dirndls for women
• A law requiring the poor and middle classes to throw themselves into the mud if they see an noble exiting from their limo, so that they will have a sturdy back to tread upon, rather than soil their brunos

Nobles will be easy to spot, as they will all sport monocles and top hats.